Dunelm puts in strong first half performance
Homewares retailer Dunelm has reported an increase in pre-tax profit in the first half of its financial year after like-for-like sales rose by 6.9% in the period.
In the six months to 29 December like-for-like sales in its stores edged up 3.8% while online like-for-likes climbed by 35.8%. The retailer also experienced growth in its number of customers with a rise of 4.3% in-store and 18.7% online.·
The results meant that pre-tax profit on an underlying basis was up 16.7% to £70 million in the period. Revenue increased by 1.2% to £551.8 million.
Nick Wilkinson, Dunelm chief executive, said: “It’s been a good first six months with our strong performance reflecting the focus we have placed back on the core Dunelm business.The like-for-like revenue growth, both in stores and online, demonstrates the progress we are making in improving our multichannel proposition whilst maintaining the breadth and depth of our specialist customer offer in homewares.On top of this, good operational discipline and keeping things simple, is driving a better financial performance.”
The focus on the core Dunelm business meant that the retailer closed both its Kiddicare and Worldstores websites during the first quarter and transferred any lines that it wanted to retain from those sites to Dunelm.com. The retailer said having just one supply chain and one web platform helped it to tighten its operational and “commercial grip” on the business.
Although Dunelm put in a good performance during its busy winter sale period, it is remaining cautious about the remainder of the financial year due to continuing political uncertainty in the UK.
Wilkinson added: “We are confident in delivering market expectations5 for the full year assuming no material change in the macro-economic environment.
“Looking to the future, we will continue to grow the business as we become a truly multichannel homewares destination, making Dunelm the first choice for even more customers, and further strengthening our market leading position.”
